TNA wrestler's star rising

At a towering six-foot-three and weighing more than 200 pounds, the man known in wrestling simply as Bram commands the ring, whether it’s simply standing inside of it or dominating an opponent in the name of sports entertainment.

But these days, the Total Nonstop Action wrestling star, whose real name is Thomas Latimer, is commanding the screen as well, with a starring role in <I>Check Point</i>, the thriller starring Kenny Johnson of <I>The Shield</I> fame and legendary fellow wrestler Bill Goldberg.

The film, which centres around an invasion of "sleeper cells" disrupting a tight-knit community, throwing their "Norman Rockwell" life style into chaos and fear, is the latest feather in the cap of the veteran wrestler, a native of Chesterfield, England.

Pride is evident in Latimer’s voice, even over the phone. His long journey through wrestling’s sometimes cold and harsh climate, full of ups and downs, has brought him to present day, and his first starring role in a feature film.

Life in the UK for the young Latimer certainly wasn’t dominated by professional wrestling, he recalled. In fact, Latimer said in his soothing British accent, he’d never even seen pro wrestling until some kids at school told him of its existence, piquing the curiosity of the natural-born athlete.

“I’d see little bits here and there, but nothing really clicked until I got my mitts on some videotapes,” Latimer said. “In England, unless you had cable TV, and we didn’t when I was growing up, I’d only find out from them what was going on.”

After watching videos of WrestleMania 8 and King of the Ring 1998, Latimer was hooked. The trouble in the UK then, he said, was there weren’t many places to learn the craft.

“Back when I was (breaking in), there weren’t that many wrestling schools, at least not that many good ones,” he said. “Nowadays, the UK is a such a hotbed for wrestling. I just got back from a month (in the UK). You can make a great living just by wrestling out there, whereas in the States, it’s kind of harder. I spent all this time trying to get here and now I should really be back in England – it shows you how much it’s changed.”

Latimer would break into the business he had fallen in love with as a referee, an attempt, he admitted, at just being around the business.

“I was terrible,” he recounted of his days donning the stripes. “I didn’t know what I was doing. I messed up everything, but that’s how I got a bit of an insight into the business.”

His time as ref, where he gained experience, combined with a move to a city which had a wrestling school, would start him down his path to greatness.

“I actually managed to get into a wrestling school, which back then was just a few mats on the floor. That really sucked. You learned the hard way. I kind of got lucky when I moved. I moved from where I was living to another town and it was close to that wrestling school. That’s really where it picked up.”

Latimer’s eventual trainer was a man by the name of Jeff Kaye, who was close friends with Dave (Fit) Finlay, a longtime wrestler/trainer with ties to World Wrestling Entertainment. Kaye introduced Finlay to Latimer, who would help broker a developmental deal for the young aspiring wrestler. Event then, however, Latimer had to pay his dues.

“I just kept training and training and I think it was like five years before I was finally signed. It’s a long time to feel depressed and rubbish about yourself,” he said.

Latimer’s challenges, however, did not stop there. After signing with WWE, he would toil in developmental, watching those around him get their shot, while his never came.

“The whole wrestling business itself is kind of this giant test,” said Latimer, who recently split from wife Ashley Fliehr, a.k.a. Charlotte. “I had five years of trying to get to WWE and then being told, ‘No, we’re not doing anything (with you),’ and then seeing everyone else get signed and get to get to Florida except for me …. You’re constantly being tested. Then when you get there, the real test begins because then you’ve got to make sure you keep your job and that you do as you’re told and that you progress and become something that they can market and make money on. That never stops. You’re always being tested.”

Getting there, in Latimer’s case, came after his release from WWE. He signed on with rival TNA, where he still works. Since arriving at TNA in 2013, Latimer’s Bram character has worked various storylines, culminating with his role in <I>Check Point</i>.

Professionally, life is great for the big Englishman.

“That company feels like a family to me,” Latimer said of TNA. “I go to work and I feel like I’m going to see my family. From top to bottom, from the talent they have to the management, I feel comfortable, secure, everyone’s fun. These things to me make a big difference now. Of course it’s a business and we’re all in it to make money, but at the same time, I want to feel comfortable with the people that I’m with and I do feel that. It kind of feels like I’m not even going to work.”

Latimer’s TNA exposure led to his latest, and biggest, film opportunity. The jump from the acting in wrestling to that on film, while not a huge leap, is certainly different, Latimer said.

“I prefer taped a lot more,” he said of live acting versus film. “With wrestling, you only get one shot, whereas at least with acting, you can mess it up, and know one knows.”

The leap from wrestling to film acting is nothing new. Dozens of wrestlers have made the leap to acting through the decades, to varying degrees of success. Overcoming the stigma associated with those who’ve failed to make it big is something Latimer is dealing with.

“I’d say it’s almost a slightly negative thing being a wrestler getting into acting,” he said. “You’re usually seen as just a wrestler, which is a bit unfair. I think that maybe when I was a kid, acting was something I always wanted to do and wrestling was kind of the closest thing to that for me. I think there’s maybe something going on there with maybe wanting to be an actor when I was a kid, but wrestling kind of took over that dream.”

The stigma has been helped along by the wild success by the likes of The Rock, Dave Bautista and others, Latimer said.

“I feel there is a general stigma, but The Rock and people like that, Bill Goldberg, Stone Cold (Steve Austin), even (John) Cena, started changing that.”

While there’s still plenty of wrestling left in him, Latimer admits the lure of acting is a strong one.

“I can only wrestle for so long,” he said. “It’s taken me this long – I think I started in 2002 – to get here in wrestling, so who’s to say how long or if ever, I’d be able to even really get into acting like. It’s an endeavor I’d like to pursue for sure.

“And it hurts less,” he quipped.

While things in his personal life were not the best, things suddenly took a great turn professionally for Latimer.

“I think they were looking for a good antagonist for Bill Goldberg’s character,” he said of his <I>Check Point</i> role. “I think they needed a guy who could at least go toe to toe with Bill and manhandle him a little bit. I think that’s probably the reason I was chosen for this role. In real life, I’m sure it would be a completely different thing.”

Much like he does when he stands across the ring with a formidable foe, Latimer pays respect to his film foe turned friend, Goldberg.

“It was an absolute pleasure to get to meet him, finally,” Latimer said. “Sometimes you don’t know if you’re going to get to meet these people and also you don’t know what these people are like in real life. I’ve got nothing but praise and good things to say about Bill. Not only is he a gentleman and just a great guy, he’s also a great actor and really gets into his role. Being able to be with him – talk wrestling, talk football, MMA, become friends with the guy and get to film a movie with him – was pretty special.”

The entire experience is one that has left Latimer feeling the same kind of passion he felt as a young man pursuing his wrestling career.

“It was great,” he said of the experience filming <I>Check Point</i>. “We had some great directors and some great talent on there. It was also good to be able to pick the brains of and hang out with the likes of (former wrestler) Tyler Mane and Kane Hodder and Kenny Johnson, Fred Williamson and all these other people. Then we had (MMA star) John Lewis as our fight co-ordinator for me and Bill. All of this kind of stuff was really cool. Like I said, it’s something that I really enjoy and it’s kind of like wrestling except you’re not getting hurt. And it’s also a lot of fun and I like anything that’s fun.”

Given the choice, acting or wrestling, Latimer struggles when asked which route he would take.

“That’s a tough one,” he said. “I’d probably want my cake and eat it too and I’d probably want to do both. And then when it’s time to get in my wheelchair, then go fully into acting.”

Then he turned serious.

“That’s a tough one, that’s a really tough one,” he reiterated. “I personally have kind of a love-hate relationship with wrestling. It feels like you put so much time and effort, blood, sweat and tears into it and wrestling doesn’t always give back, but at the same time, this is something that I love and this is something that I feel that I’m good at. That would be a real tough one. If you could guarantee my future and career in film, and you could say ‘Well, you’re going to be making all this money and you’re going to be doing this and that,’ then I’d probably go with the film.”

Besides, Latimer acknowledged, as fellow wrestler Dave Bautista proved with his breakout in the smash hit <I>Guardians of the Galaxy</I>, it only takes one role.

“If you get one of those Marvel roles, you’re sweet. I’d love that.”

For more information on <I>Check Point</i>, go to http://www.checkpointthemovie.com.